There are few places in the city where you are so obviously somewhere else. Sea Palace is anchored on Oosterdokskade, within walking distance of Central Station, and the building demands attention: three stories in traditional Chinese pagoda style, red ornaments, curved roofs. From the outside, it looks like someone put a piece of Hong Kong on the water. That's more or less what happened, too.
Built in 1984, the restaurant was the largest Chinese restaurant in the world when it opened, with 900 seats. That record has since been adjusted to 600 seats, but the ambition is still there. Sea Palace is Europe's first all-floating restaurant and has a Michelin Bib Gourmand. That distinction is not a given: Chinese restaurants are rarely awarded by the guide in the Netherlands, and Sea Palace is one of the few to make it.
Inside, the building divides into three floors, each with a different character. On the first floor, a cocktail bar sits next to the a la carte section, where you can simply sit down for dinner. The second floor is set up as an event space, for business dinners and weddings. At the very top is a private dining space with access to a rooftop terrace and an LED screen, suitable for eighty people. The windows on each floor overlook the water and the city. It's a combination you won't find anywhere else: authentic Chinese interior with Amsterdam outside the window.
Sea Palace is Europe's first all-floating restaurant and has a Michelin Bib Gourmand, a distinction rarely given to Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands.
The Oosterdokskade has gotten a lot in recent years: new buildings, offices, the Amsterdam Central Library. Sea Palace is in the middle of it, but doesn't care much. The pagoda building just floats by, as it has done for forty years. Those who have been inside it once understand why it has lasted so long. You eat well, you sit well, and the view belongs to no one else.